1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of dicing a semiconductor wafer and, more particularly, to a method of dicing a semiconductor wafer that substantially reduces the width of the saw street.
2. Description of the Related Art
The final back-end processing of a semiconductor wafer typically includes the step of back grinding the wafer (removing a portion of the back side of the wafer to reduce the thickness of the wafer). In addition, the processing also commonly includes the step of bumping the wafer (adding solder bumps to the pads formed on the top surface of the wafer).
The last wafer processing step is the dicing or cutting of the wafer to form a large number of individual die. Each die is then placed in a package, such as a flip-chip package when the die has been bumped, to form a semiconductor chip. The wafer is typically diced to form the large number of individual die by using a wafer saw that physically cuts completely through the wafer to form openings, known as “saw streets,” between the individual die.
Current-generation wafer saws provide a minimum street width of two mils (50.8×10−6 m) between adjacent die. Since a large number of die are formed when the wafer is diced or cut, the cumulative amount of wafer real estate lost to saw streets is significant. As a result, there is a need for a method of dicing a semiconductor wafer that consumes less area than a saw street.